In a powerful piece at Ebony, Jamilah Lemieux issues a stern rebuke to those who think that black people can police themselves into becoming respected or validated by white people. She asks, "How are white folks gonna confront their biases when at every turn there's a black person willing to hop up and tell them that we are really the worst and we don't deserve equality anyway?"

I don’t think that any of these people would tell you that they hate Black people or themselves or things that are associated with blackness. But the uncomfortable thread running all through these narratives is the suggestion that we have to be good to be good enough. To be respected, to be human, to be validated in the eyes of White folk.

Because, you know, this is what really matters. In fact, I often feel like some of us are walking around wearing invisible W.W.W.F.D. bracelets around their wrists in hopes of somehow policing themselves into validity.

What would White folks do? And what can we do to get them to tell us we’re okay? Who do we have to be to gain their respect? If we play nice, will you finally treat us that way?

The Rootaims to foster and advance conversations about issues relevant to the black Diaspora by presenting a variety of opinions from all perspectives, whether or not those opinions are shared by our editorial staff.